My grandmother, on my mother’s Bahraini side, was a wise woman. I was brought up in her house in the old town of Muharraq Bahrain from the age of 6 to 13 when I was sent back home to Saudi Arabia.
That period of my life was critical since it really shaped the way I look at the world and people. I was recently asked by a close friend to summarize my relationship with my grandmother and I said immediately that I was like her skin.
I went with her everywhere she went after I got home from school; I was an avid listener and a small sincere follower. Most of my formative experiences date from that era.
One of her famous quotes had to do with the old wooden ruler of life. Life for humans is short, even when it seems long and can be measured by a tailor’s wooden ruler that starts with zero and ends with one hundred. A human quality of life in its full strength is 65 so if you are 35, then what is really left for you, if you live, is in reality merely 30 years; after 65, you are more of a watcher if you keep living and that is the hard reality.
Facts keep us in a reality check. It makes us aware how fragile and precious our human lives are and although our souls give us the sense of immortality, that is a false feeling. It is the quality of the life we lead that makes the difference, not how long the life is. Enjoy it while it lasts, and keep watching for the best.
Dear Nadia
I am an addict of cookbooks and I know that you in the Arabian Gulf area use dry black lemon in cooking. Can you please tell me how, where, and why?
— Marceline, Philippine
Dear Marceline,
Dry black lemon is very important in the Gulf area. And as the name implies, they are small green lemons dried in the sun until they are dark and hard. When cooked, it gives a strong sour stingy taste. It is used in cooking dishes such as stews and the like, or as a hot drink like tea in the winter. Some use it for cold remedies.